Institutes

NTI, Bengaluru

National Tuberculosis Institute (NTI), Bangalore is an organization under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, established in 1959 in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The Institute was established with the objective of formulating the National TB Control Programme. The Institute is the technical arm of the Central TB Division, which is responsible for implementation of National TB Control Programme across the country. This is a premier Institute in the field of Tuberculosis control in South East Asia, which caters to the human resource needs for TB control in the region. Since 1985, the Institute has been functioning as a WHO Collaborative Centre for Training and Research. The Institute is also involved in carrying out Operational Research on various components of TB Control. The Institute has a National Reference Laboratory for External Quality Assessment in the TB Control activity supported by animal Research facilities. It also provides technical support for Intermediate Reference Laboratories for effective implementation of Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB across the country.

The Institute has also been identified as the nodal centre for operational research related to RNTCP. The major activities as a nodal centre are to organize workshops and dissemination of research data through publications.

The Institute has been re-organized with formation of Divisions/Units the details are given below:

The Institute has pioneered in the field of Human Resources Development. It is involved in conducting the following training programmes to the TB Programme Managers positioned at different parts of the country.

Publication Activities: The faculty of the Institute publish research papers in the leading journals on TB. Make Presentations and Poster sessions on the basis of the research studies conducted by the institute in the National Conference on TB and Chest Disease. The in-house publication of NTI Bulletin is undertaken.

National data base of trained manpower: It is proposed to set up an online portal which facilitates the national Institutes to update their training calendar and the participants trained.

Development of Model DOTS District incorporating the objectives envisaged as per the National Strategic plan 2012-17.

LABORATORY DIVISION

The Laboratory Division comprises of :

National Reference Laboratory

ICELT

Animal Model Research Unit

1. Operationalise the EQA for sputum smear microscopy network in the states in conjunction with STDCs or IRLSs. Carry out NRL responsibilities of EQA such as Onsite Evaluation (OSE). Panel testing (proficiency testing of lab staff) to ten states at least once in a year for 3-4 days (including one to two districts visits), and make visits as and when required depending on the priorities /necessity to improve and help the performance of labs. Eight. Prepared slides are used for panel testing during the visits.

2. Conducting quality improvement workshops for the state level programme managers with a view to find solutions to EQA related operational and technical problems faced in the field.

3. To implement and verify Random Blinded Rechecking (RBRC) producers and improve the performance of labs based on analysis of the RBRC data in conjunction with STDCs.

4. Capacity building and strengthening the ten state level TB laboratories (STDCs) with respect to proficiency in culture and Drug Susceptibly Testing including second line drugs.

5. Conducting Anti-TB Drug résistance surveillances of priority states involving processing of representative sample of the states to obtain information of prevalence of drug resistance, with a view to support logistics of DOTS – Plus programme under expansion of DOTS and RNTCP and conduct/participate in National Level disease prevalence studies/surveys.

6. The Lab team of the Institute carryout on site evaluation of STDC laboratories of different states and provides necessary guidelines to establish quality laboratory to undertake EQA and DRS studies.

7. Carry out Lab based research studies using modern diagnostic techniques and tools viz., Gene expert, Genetic Analyzer, HPLC for NTMs, LPA and MGIT 960

8. The Institute also has an Animal Model Research Unit which is responsible for

9. The Govt. of India in collaboration with FIND has established an International Centre for Excellence in Laboratory Training (ICELT) for providing trained manpower in newer diagnostic tools for diagnosing TB including Drug Resistant TB

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND RESEARCH DIVISION

Major responsibilities of the division are as under:-

Carry out large scale community as well as facility based epidemiological, and operational research (OR) and implementation research in TB all over the country

Prepare generic protocols

Providing technical and operational support to state and central level health institutions in the country, CTD, WHO and countries in South east Asia region in carrying out epidemiological and operational research

Maintaining a data base of O.R. carried out in the country

Mathematical modeling in TB

Providing mentorship and training to state and national level officials in operational research

The Monitoring & Evaluation Division of the Institute plays an essential role and forms a supportive unit for the research activities. The Division provides the statistical needs of all the research activities i.e. from the planning stage of studies or surveys, protocol development, designing study schedules/forms, sample size estimation, collection and validation of data, collation, analysis of data, generating tables and results and interpretation of the results of various research studies.

This wing is also shoulders the responsibility of documenting and archiving the various research protocols approved and studies conducted in the Institute till date. Statistical analysis is being carried out using statistical packages viz; Epiinfo, SPSS etc.

COMMUNICATION AND SOCIOLOGY DIVISION

The Scientific Gallery has been established to disseminate the general information on TB the evolution of the programme and achievements of the Institute since its inception. Considering the needs of various categories of trainees, two methods of display units viz., Photo Display and Projection facility and Information Kiosk are available.

One day Awareness Programmes are held by the Division for the Medical and Para medical students from different institutions of the state and neighbouring states, orientation to students of medical colleges and other teaching.

ADMINISTRATION DIVISION

The Administration Division of NTI caters to all the administrative requirements of the Institute. The five units under this Division are Establishment, Accounts, Hostel, Stores and Transport Units. The major activities of different units are briefly furnished below:

Establishment

The unit caters to the administrative matters, general upkeep of campus through CPWD, provision of contractual manpower to various divisions and service matters pertaining to the staff viz., Framing of Recruitment Rules in respect of all Group ‘B’ & ‘C’ posts as per the recommendation of VI CPC and its onward transmission to the CTD for its notification, holding of DPC for considering cases of promotion, confirmation, grant of MACP, processing of legal issues pertaining to service matters coming under the purview of Central Administrative Tribunals and Honorable High Court of Karnataka & SLP in the Supreme Court.

Civil & Electrical works and Maintenance

The Civil and Electrical Works of the Institute are being executed through the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, out of the budget sanctioned to NTI during each financial year.

Infrastructure at Institute:

The institute campus is located in the city centre spreading over 20 acres. The main campus consists the admin block (AVLON), PV Benjamin Block (Training, Library), Robert Koch Block (Laboratory), Krishna and Cauvery Nivas (Hostels), AMU Block, Transport block, Stores Block, Guest House and different types of 66 staff quarters. The institute has a fully air-conditioned auditorium with a seating capacity of 150 persons equipped with audio and visual devices. Training block has 2 conference halls, one computer training room, 3 class rooms and one board room.

The hostel of the institute caters to the accommodation needs of medical & paramedical trainees attending various training programmes and also officials visiting from head quarters and other Institutions/Offices. The Institute has two hostel blocks viz., Krishna Nivas and Cauvery Nivas and a Guest House. Krishna Nivas block has 25 double bedded rooms; Cauvery Nivas has 9 single rooms & 5 guest rooms and the Guest House has 7 beds. The Mess attached to the Hostel provides hygienic boarding facility.

Transport Unit

The Institute had fleet of 7 vehicles and the unit is responsible for the upkeep of the vehicles including in-house repair of vehicles, if feasible. The unit also maintains all documents pertaining to registration, insurance and condemnation of vehicles.

The unit caters to the financial matters of the Institute. This includes:

Preparation of annual budget and performance budget proposals.

Drawing and disbursement of salaries, travelling allowances, medical reimbursement & other claims and advances related to the staff & officers

Calculation and disbursement of MACP arrears, Pay re-fixation, and payment of arrears on account of grant of PCA from retrospective effect.

Processing of payments pertaining to procurements made through stores and annual maintenance contracts services.

Stores cater to the logistic needs of various sections of the Institute. It is responsible for procurement and supply of stores items for the smooth functioning of the Institute. This involves extensive procedures viz., receipt of indents from individual sections and their compilation, calling for quotations/ tenders, arrangements for opening the tenders, preparation of comparative statements and submission of the same to the Purchase Committee for its recommendations for further necessary action. The other functions of the section include:

Maintenance of stores /stock ledger.

Arrangement for Annual Maintenance of equipments held by different sections.

Arrangement for Annual Stock verification

Arrangement for condemnation and disposal of unserviceable items as per laid down procedure.